A Previously Ignored Indian Art Culture Comes To Naperville

Hankerin` for a touch of the Southwest? Asbury`s at Fifth Avenue Station mall in Naperville brings native Indian artwork from Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah to the Midwest.

``It`s a blend of art forms,`` owner Don Asbury said of his store. ``The interest in the Indian artifact has just gone wild. I think people in general have realized we have an art culture that heretofore went ignored.``

Some of Asbury`s own collection is on display, but not for sale, throughout the store. Browsers can view a thousand-year-old Indian burial urn from the Mississippian culture and one of only three 3-foot dolls carved by White Eagle, whose work is highly prized in Indian artwork circles, according to Asbury.

Among items for sale are Kacina dolls ($85-$750) by John Birdsong Booth of Phoenix, which were used as religious and ceremonial symbols. The handcarved cottonwood dolls have been sold at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

Indian saddles ($100) constructed of wood and made to fit the pointed backs of the small mustang ponies hang from one corner of the store. Rugs of 100 percent wool and made in Mexico or near the border are popular with customers looking to decorate with the pastel colors of the Southwest. Prices range from $39 to $110.

Original Navajo rugs ($200-$4,600), some bearing authentication with the name and area of the weaver, also are available. Prices vary depending on whether the rug is made on a handloom or one automated by foot pedals. The authentic, individually designed rug also carries a higher price than one handmade but using commerical, factory-dyed yarns woven in a standard design. Asbury pointed to one authentic rug made of handspun, hand-dyed wool that took an Indian woman 18 months to complete. The wool was made from the sheep the Navajos raise.

Pottery, basketry, tiny medicine bags and some commercially made Southwestern art fill the store, along with custom and standard jewelry. The jewelry is a carryover from the store`s origins as a school for jewelry arts, with a specialization in opals.